Former Sopwith Aviation Company Factory

This is a former aviation factory, later used as a polytechnic and then a university engineering department. It was built in five main stages between 1913 and 1918, with minor additions made in 1935-36. The original core of the factory, located centrally on Canbury Park Road, consisted of a single-story shed with two-story offices on either side, designed to conceal the shed from the road. This included a first-floor drawing office. An extension was added in 1914-15, incorporating a saw mill and carpenters' shop on Elm Road and effectively doubling the initial size of the complex. This complex was then doubled in size again in 1916-17 with the addition of woodworking, paint, and tinsmith’s shops in two phases along Elm Crescent. The final addition comprised offices built at the corner of Elm Crescent and Canbury Park Road in 1917. Between 1935 and 1936, the original section and the initial extension along Canbury Park Road were raised to create new planning and cost offices above the existing drawing office.

The buildings are primarily red brick with slate roofing and stand two to three stories high. The offices, located at the corner of Canbury Park Road and Elm Crescent (built in 1913-14), have a Canbury Park Road elevation with 14 windows, most being top-opening metal casements, including a two-story five-light canted bay on the left side. Brick pilasters feature on the ground floor. The Elm Crescent elevation has 13 metal casements, including two four-light canted bays on the first floor, along with a splayed, round-headed entrance topped with a keystone and impost blocks, and a 20th-century door. Adjoining the offices along Elm Crescent are the woodworking, paint, and tinsmith's shops built in 1916-17. These are three stories high and incorporate a series of gables with oculi windows. The Canbury Park Road elevations incorporate the original section of the complex from 1913, which was raised by one story in 1935-36. They have three stories and a total of 38 windows. Elm Road features the 1914-15 saw mill and carpenters' shop, also two stories high, and includes a section with four gables and oculi windows. The office building contains a notable staircase and a panelled boardroom. The factory roofs are supported by metal trusses.

This factory is likely the oldest purpose-built aeroplane factory in England, and no other site has seen the design of so many significant aircraft. From 1912 to 1920, it was home to the Sopwith Aviation Company, founded by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, which produced aircraft like the Sopwith Camel (1916-17) and the Snipe (1918), both designed on this site. From 1920 onward, the factory continued as the H.G. Hawker Engineering Factory. Under the renowned designer Sydney Camm (1893-1966), the Hawker Fury (1931) and the Hawker Hurricane (1933) were also designed here.